Hoary Redpoll, Pine Grosbeak, Bald Eagle (20150222) A sunny SUnday morning walk.

The Weaselhead is one of my favourite areas of FCPP. On Friday night (20th) there was a Bobcat photographed by an individual so my expectations were added to.  This is the same area where I got my Bobcat shots last November, the link to those shots is here.  Our first bird was a feeder situated Downy Woodpecker that was in heavy shade. This male was out in more generous light.

As we walked by the area some Redpolls were flushed so we waited a bit and they returned. This is a shot of a Hoary on the right defending the seed pile while a Common came in for a little something to eat.

Here is a look at just he Hoary Redpoll. She was very possessive of the food supply.

And here is a very similar but Common Redpoll. The breast streaking is much more pronounced.

Here are a more congenial pair of birds sharing the feast.

I spotteed four birds in a different area than these birds and I got down on my belly to get this next shot. The crew on the walk thought that I was nuts, maybe I am :) This is a Common male, love the colours.

Up the trail a bit some House Finches were being heard, and an American Goldfinsh was with them. That is quite an oddity for Calgary in the winter. Here  is a House Finch action shot.

Of course as we observe the wildlife there is usually wildlife observing us, nota all as readily evident as this Red Squirrel.

Our next encounter was with a small flock of Pine Grosbeaks. These birds an be quite approachable if you move slowly, and there is food around. This is a young male, just getting his red colouring.

Here is a female, they add such colour to our winters of brown and white.

We had other sightings like an American Tree Sparrow and a lot of Blue Jays. Our day wound up with this immature Bald Eagle we found at pretty much the furthest point of our walk.

We had a great day with some stellar winter light, a terrific way to start a Sunday. This week, put a little wild in your life!
Turbo